


Leaving Just Your Picture Behind (and I Kissed It a Thousand Times)

by fiveyaaas



Series: The Wife Guy Five Chronicles [8]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Anyways, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, Married Couple, Old Married Couple, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel, Wife Guy Number Five | The Boy, also idk why but you know that scene in american crime story, being like the kardashian kids, for some reason i couldn’t stop myself from picturing five and vanya’s children, i end up writing them near DEATH, i like to think that if five ever met the god of death he’d just be like ‘say sike or DIE’, idk y’all i had some thoughts, like you know when they’re yelling kardashian or whatever, that scene from lion king, this has the same energies, well jokes on u, what is my problem, why is it that every time i write old married fiveya, with the kardashian family, you know the one, y’all thought you were free of my tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29752887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiveyaaas/pseuds/fiveyaaas
Summary: “I’m not going to marry again.” She frowned as he pulled away, and he climbed into the bed beside her.“You’re mywife,and I can assure you that I’m not going to just…replaceyou.”“I don’t want you to be all alone, though,” she whimpered.“I still have Diego,” he argued, smoothing down her white hair and kissing all of the wrinkles he’d gotten to see accumulate over the years. “And Luther. And Ben. Plus all of our five kids, twelve grandkids, two great-grandkids.Andthe dogs, who would never let me feel alone, ever.”
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: The Wife Guy Five Chronicles [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171229
Kudos: 14





	Leaving Just Your Picture Behind (and I Kissed It a Thousand Times)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jules5971](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jules5971/gifts).



> This is for Jules5971, who is a constant joy to talk to! I feel a little bad giving her heavy angst when she’s like a human ball of sunshine LMAO. 
> 
> Please read the warnings on this one! I’ll put them here to make sure that they’re clear: major character death, grief, panic attacks, and PTSD!! If those are difficult topics to any readers, please just skip this one!! It won’t affect your understanding of any of the other stories in the series!!

“You know I won’t judge you if you get remarried, right?” Vanya said, glancing up at him tiredly, and Five’s head snapped up, eyes going wide. “Don’t look at me like that. We knew this would come eventually.”

He grabbed her hands, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “I’m not going to marry again.” She frowned as he pulled away, and he climbed into the bed beside her.“You’re my  _ wife _ , and I can assure you that I’m not going to just…  _ replace _ you.”

“I don’t want you to be all alone, though,” she whimpered. 

“I still have Diego,” he argued, smoothing down her white hair and kissing all of the wrinkles he’d gotten to see accumulate over the years. “And Luther. And Ben. Plus all of our five kids, twelve grandkids, two great-grandkids.  _ And _ the dogs, who would never let me feel alone, ever.” 

She gave him a tight smile, and he kissed her forehead. “Nobody else is ever going to compare to the lifetime I had with you, dear. I wouldn’t be happy now if it wasn’t with you.”

A soft noise left her throat, and he kissed her again, this time on the lips. 

“I won’t stop taking care of myself, either,” he promised. “The kids still need us, especially with their children starting to become parents, too. You don’t have to worry that I would let myself go without having you or… any hypothetical person, either.” It had been different when he’d needed Dolores to survive, considering she’d been the only thing left in the world even resembling a person. Five didn’t have Vanya’s actual book in this timeline, but he’d memorized it when he was younger and written it down so he’d always have it when they’d first gotten married. As well as that, he’d kept every single letter, note, or card she’d ever written him, probably the slightest bit obsessive about keeping them safe but also very thankful for hoarding them, considering that he wouldn’t have her much longer. She was at their home because her doctor had agreed to it, since he was there to take care of her. “I just wish Klaus was still around, so I could still… you know, talk to you and stuff after.”

Though he’d been trying not to upset her, he started choking up, crying as he thought of what he was supposed to do after she left, not sure that he could handle it. Part of him thought he might not be able to handle it, that he’d keep going back in time to be with her until he died, too. He’d never asked her if she was okay with it, but he didn't know how she would even react if he  _ did  _ ask. “I’m sorry, V,” he gasped, wishing that he could stop himself. “I don’t mean to upset you. Please don’t think that—”

“It’s okay,” she interrupted, cuddling up to his side and kissing him. “Don’t worry about it, Five.”

He set his forehead against hers, brushing away the tears that were spilling over her own cheeks. “I don’t know how I’m going to  _ manage  _ without you. Not that I won’t try as hard as I can for you, but… I don’t know how I’m going to live a life without you again, especially when I know… that you wouldn’t be able to c-c-come back.” Struggling to breathe, he explained, “The first time around, I could at least  _ hope  _ that if I changed the numbers around, we’d have a life together. And we  _ did,  _ V, but I don’t know how I’m going to take living another decade without you by my side. It almost makes it harder, considering that I know what it’s like to be so happy with you. We didn’t even really have a chance to be happy, back when we were kids.” 

She set her hand on his cheek, and he felt the exact same as he had the first time he’d cried in front of her, after being trapped in a dark, claustrophobic room, tasked to teleport out of there when he was panicking and screaming for help. Even after all of this time, both with her and without her, she was his best friend first. His lips pressed to her palm. “I’m sorry if this is upsetting you.”

“I’m upset  _ for  _ you, Five,” she whispered. “Not  _ because  _ of you.”

“Who knows, maybe we’ll have another ten years…” He didn’t believe it, but as he held her to him, he wanted so badly to believe it, aware that he was saying those words for  _ both  _ of their benefit. “You’ve always been so stubborn, you know. It wouldn’t shock me if you somehow became immortal just to tell me when I’m being an idiot.”

She giggled, the noise sounding wet, and they held onto one another until their eyes started to droop. Vanya fell asleep first, sleepily reminding him that their kids would be there the next day, having been called by him when the doctor had let on how little time she likely had left. 

“I know, dear, don’t worry. The house is baby proofed still.”

She opened her eyes enough so that he could see them when she gave him a small smile. “I love you, Five. You gave me the happiest life I could have ever hoped for.”

“Don’t talk like you’re saying goodbye,” he ordered, kissing her cheek. “Though I love you too, Sev. Every day I’ve spent with you has been a pleasure.”

He kept holding onto her after she fell asleep, but he was exhausted, having gotten very little sleep in the past few weeks. It didn’t take much long after she’d fallen asleep for him to follow. 

When his eyes opened, Five wished that he’d just stayed up, though. 

Yawning, he turned around. “Hey, do you want any co—”

Her body was still, and, panicking, he started shaking her. Five had been an assassin long enough to know what he was witnessing, but he couldn’t believe it, feeling like the moment he’d realized the world had ended all over again. Except she was just  _ his  _ world. 

“Vanya,” Five said, shaking her again. “Vanya, dear, wake up, okay? Please?”

Fat tears were slipping from his cheeks onto her body, and his mind started to flood with images of the time he’d shot a man’s wife, not escaping quickly enough to not hear his reaction, remembering the way he’d started screaming the woman’s name. 

“Vanya, please. For me.” His lips were wobbling, and he considered, briefly, risking getting stuck in time again to just adequately say  _ goodbye  _ to her.  _ “Vanya. Seven. V—” _

He didn’t know when he started screaming, but he knew that when his children found him, he was kneeling in front of her, weeping over his wife’s body and begging her to come back to him. If he had heard them walk in, he would have at least  _ tried  _ to compose himself, knowing that this couldn’t be good for them and still somewhat thinking of them like they were toddlers, but it took one of his daughter’s hands on his shoulders before he even looked away from her body, while another one talked rapidly on the phone, voice shaking. 

“Dad, you need to—” It took all of his effort, but he nodded, still struggling to breathe but forcing away the tears, knowing that that was what she needed from him. 

When his kids started hugging him, his mind was already filling with the equations to stop this from happening. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! 💕


End file.
